Vic had his main office at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, but regularly visited each of the U.S. Consulates across China. Today was Vic’s scheduled visit to Chengdu. Vic was also a native New Yorker, born and raised in Douglaston, Queens, and had the mannerisms and accent to boot. After finishing Manhattan College, Vic became a Certified Public Accountant and worked in Manhattan for eight years. While living the city life of Yankees baseball, Rangers hockey, Southampton summers, and NY City bars, he still wanted more out of life. By luck, he spotted a poster ad in his office lunchroom looking for CPA’s to take the FBI Special Agent Phase I Written Exam, a three-hour test consisting of Cognitive, Behavioral, and Logical Reasoning skills. The ad was looking for CPA’s, lawyers, linguists, and former military members. Before Vic knew it, he not only passed the written exam, physical fitness test, extensive oral panel interview process and polygraph, but soon reported to the massive 547-acre training facility at the FBI Academy at Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia. Months later, he rolled to the Cleveland Field Office working Medicaid fraud cases as a rookie Special Agent.
“We got us a classic walk-in, Vic. This guy is named… ahh… Captain Wu Lee, Chinese Military, ahh, Air Force. Solo. As you can see, he is pretty well dressed, speaks Mandarin. His English better than half of Brooklyn, and has a request to speak with a U.S. intelligence officer. Made the request in writing on his hotel stationary.”
“Hmm. Anyone know this guy?” asked Vic, and after a brief pause, “huh… he looks kinda… kinda jaundiced. Yellowish. This guy sick?” Complete with a pinky ring, Vic talked while waving his hand around with his pinky out, as well as his index finger and thumb. This was a classic New York mannerism.
“Okay, I’ll do the talking and interview him. As usual, I’ll ask you to stay in here, take your notes, and we’ll compare in a bit. Good?” asked Chris, as he got a clean sheet out on his spiral bound notepad. Vic nodded.
Chris left the small meeting room and entered the hallway. He took off his jacket, hung it on the hallway hook, and took off his tie. If the person being interviewed was street dressed, he did not want to walk in like he was an investment banker from Wall Street. Chris knocked on the door, and entered.
“Good morning, Captain Lee, my name is Chris,” Chris said in Mandarin.
“Yes, good morning. I appreciate you speaking our Mandarin, but we both know I speak English very well.”
Chris stared at him and didn’t say anything. It was the silent treatment to see who would blink first.
“I also appreciate you meeting with me this morning,” Wu said. His mouth was dry, eyes dilated, and was still scared shitless.
Chris thought for a moment, and agreed, this guy did speak better English than most New Yorkers.
“Let me get right to it. Why I am here today. I would like to talk with a specific United States citizen, a close friend of mine, over one of your secure video teleconference systems. He is one of your U.S. Air Force pilots.”
Chris did not say anything, nor write his name down. The two stared at each other, without any expression.
“His name is Captain Ford Stevens.”
The staring continued for what seemed like forever, but more like 30 or 45 seconds, and without a soul flinching, Chris then spoke first, putting on his act as he had been trained.
“Captain Wu Lee,” Chris tapped his pen on the table a few times. “You did all this to talk to a friend? If he is your friend, why don't you just contact him yourself? I don’t get it. Why would you come in here and ask to speak with one of us?”
“After I speak directly with him, there will be no misunderstanding, to me, on why I've come for a visit today.”
“I still do not understand, Captain Lee. You came today to us for a reason. What would you have to talk to him about that requires our involvement? Please elaborate. Because from where I sit, you’re wasting our time. We don’t know you. We don’t have a relationship with you. And you come in and ask to speak with a friend of yours in the states.”
“Mr. Chris, I have something that I need for help with… this something, once you hear what it is, will require your help as well. It will be a tremendous benefit to your government, your leaders, the country, and your military forces.”
“Okay”, Chis paused, “what is it you’re talking about?”
“I wish to speak with Ford directly, so that he may hear it from me first,” Wu said adamantly and confidently.
“Come on, Captain Lee. How I can I help you if you can’t help me.” They sat looking at each other. “Look, this little interview, this little fireside chat we’re having,” as Chris waived his hand around, “isn’t going to go anywhere unless you share way more information. You are… an Air Force pilot, yes?”
“Mr. Chris, I’m in the military. I am a military pilot. Furthermore, I am a test pilot. I am aware of your 200 U-2 pilots flying your 33 U-2’s through history. Your SR-71’s and your B-2’s. Your 10,500 foot reel of wet film and cloud-piercing radar in the U-2 nose. I am also aware of such unique things as your high altitude pilots having triple the number of brain lesions as non-pilots. I know of places like Beale, Kadena, and Whiteman. Black Cat squadrons. Technical speak on aerodynamics and fluids that would make your head spin. Listen to me, yes, I am a pilot and I know my stuff,” Wu replied.
Don’t fuck with me, Wu thought to himself.
“I see. And your interest today….your interest today related to something aviation? Flying? What is…?”
Wu cut him off. “I will share with him first, then I would be happy to share with you. I will tell you my background, which you can verify. Again, I am a test pilot. I am on a special project, and work directly for Lieutenant General He Chen, of our People’s Liberation Army Air Force. You and your intelligence apparatus are aware of Lieutenant General He Chen. He is my direct boss,” as Wu turned his glance away from Chris, and for the first time, acknowledging the two-way mirror with a long stare and nod, as if telling people behind it that he was the real deal. Wu’s confidence was growing, and his patience thinning.
“Okay, Captain Lee. We’ll need to verify your relationship and status, and your request, of course. It will take some time to locate this Captain Ford Stevens, and if he is willing, bring him in to a video teleconference location.”
“I understand. But Ford is expecting you to contact him.”
“Ford Stevens. He is expecting us to contact him?” Chris said, with a surprising tone of voice and eye brows raised.
“Yes. I have emailed him.”
Chris’ mind was racing. This was a unique case that he had not seen before. A Chinese pilot that knows an American pilot, and maybe the right hand man to one of the most powerful Chinese Lieutenant Generals in their country. He thought this was most interesting.
“Either way, Captain, it may take a while for us to find him,” Chris shared.
“That is perfectly okay, Mr. Chris. I have all day, and I will wait here,” Wu said, persistent in his words and actions to prove he wasn’t fooling around.
“Why don’t you write down your name… contact information here, and your request, as well as all the contact info you have for Captain Ford Stevens, U.S. Air Force, and… ah… we can go from there?”
Chris glanced up at the red digital world clocks across that showed the time zones across the world. It would be early evening in the U.S., depending on what time zone the Stevens guy was located in.
“Here you go,” Wu slid the pad over back to Chris.